BELMONT, Mass. — Belmont Coach Ian Haffer is being recognized for saving the life of another coach during a game last week.
Waltham’s Coach Ronnie Poirier suffered a heart attack and collapsed on the court nearly three minutes into the game, that’s when Coach Haffer, who is also a doctor, immediately sprang into action. Coach Haffer got an AED kit and placed the life-saving pads on Coach Ronnie’s chest.
“He wasn’t responding, he wasn’t breathing, had no pulse,” said Haffer. “After a couple of rounds, he started making some kind of sounds, maybe a little bit of gurgling.”
“They kept saying his heart wasn’t functioning properly. So, they were trying to help with that and eventually they got him to a hospital, and I stepped away to help with all my players who were at the game,” said Haffer.
Jeff Hines is one of the parents who witnessed it all, he says the incident was traumatic for students but praised Ian’s efforts as the utmost display of community.
“He got right down in the middle of things, he seemed to know what was happening and what was transpiring, and he immediately stayed pretty calm and collective and started to kind of be the quarterback of like call 911, he’s in full cardiac arrest, we need to perform CPR,” said Hines. “It was almost like a superhero to be honest.”
Waltham Mayor Jeannette McCarthy thanked Haffer while speaking to Boston 25 on Wednesday.
Mayor McCarthy says she’s kept in contact with Coach Ronnie and recalls his remarks after the incident, “He said without that man I probably wouldn’t be alive, he said I can’t thank everybody enough.”
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